Nutty dinner

[magid]

Sometimes, it just works out that way.

• challah (white, rye, and buckwheat flours, also oat bran, multi-grain flakes, flaxseed meal, and sunflower seeds)
  
• wine
  
• hummus with pine nuts
  
• chicken based on a dish I had weeks ago at someone else's house, but didn't get a recipe for, so I put in what sounded right. Which means: onions, quartered artichoke hearts, green olives, and black pepper under the chicken. Over the chicken, turmeric, more black pepper, a touch of sumac, orange juice, the rest of the olives, some capers, and two lemons cut in eighths. I would've used paprika, but one guest doesn't eat nightshades. I hope this works...
  
• red chard sauteed with caramelized onions, pecans, and a bit of lemon juice
  
• green salad (arugula baby romaine, chives, slivered almonds, apple slices, and a garlic dressing)
  
• sort-of banana bread with walnuts (the sort-of part being how I winged it based on memory of what the applesauce-instead-of-oil banana bread recipe had in it. I used a ginger applesauce, and forgot the salt until a couple of minutes after putting them in the oven, at which point I tried to stir some into the top, so there are likely slightly salty bits)
  
• ginger-pear not-crisp to go with the banana bread
  
• mangoes and kiwis

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

If the challah had also contained some spelt, it would have included all five grains.

Your challot always sound so yummy, as does your other food.

I like all the nuts.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I hadn't thought about having all five grains. I'm planning to restock my supply of 'interesting' flours; I should look for spelt. (And figure out what to do with the chickpea flour I already have.)

Thank you. I try to balance menus so there's not too much of anything in particular (partly lest a guest not like one thing that's in too many dishes for zir to get a reasonable meal, but mostly because it's satisfying to come up with a menu that has a variety of colors and textures and so on), so having all the nuts felt a bit odd. Tasted good, though :-).

[(Anonymous)]

I know that I know of a good recipe that calls for chickpea flour, but I cannot recall what it might be. It feels like it comes up a lot in Jewish cooking, particularly holiday cooking, or Jewish cooking of the Sephardi or Israeli persuasion.

I like both of your reasons for balancing use of individual ingredients.